Tag Archives: Thierry Wasser

Guerlain – La Petite Robe Noire

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Guerlain – La Petite Robe Noire

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Long have I put off reviewing this fragrance. In part, because I strive to give a fragrance ample time to reveal its charms, because we are all familiar with those loves that creep up on us unexpectedly. Not so with La Petite Robe Noire, released by Guerlain in 2009, at the hands of resident parfumeur Thierry Wasser. In all honesty, this fragrance never stood a chance. The name, a reference to the ubiquitous little black dress which is a must have in any woman’s wardrobe, felt like coercion: if you have only one perfume, it must be this one. The little black dress will make you instantly chic, instantly irresistible to every man in sight. You and every other woman on the planet.

Second, and a far worse offense, was the bottle. The beloved, inverted-heart Guerlain flacon, home to the hauntingly beautiful L’Heure Bleue and ground-breaking Mitsouko was “enhanced” with a cartoon drawing of a little black dress, presumably to lend a modern flair to the bottle. The fragrance was then marketed with a bizarre black caricature of a disjointed stick woman. The result was cartoonish and immature. My reaction the first time I beheld it was akin to seeing graffiti on the Louvre: it felt like the defacement of a monument. Finally, it felt like La Petite Robe Noire was intentionally everywhere. Gone was the magic of Guerlain: the sense of sophistication and genteel exclusivity.

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I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and tried to form an unbiased impression of the scent. The opening reveals a dense, syrupy sweetness of synthetic black cherry, which has been described by many as reminiscent of Cherry Coke. Not being a fan of many fruity florals, the opening was difficult to endure, though subtle hints of anise waved a fan of promise. In what seemed like the ultimate irony, La Petite Robe Noir smells hot pink not black. As the sweetness subsided, a slight hint of smoky black tea signals the first turn for the interesting the fragrance takes.

The drydown, a dusky sweetened patchouli, left me somewhat confused.  It seemed to bear no relation to the uber-girly opening and in fact seemed quite masculine in its execution. I preferred it to the opening, as it possessed a certain relative subtlety, but it seemed out of place in the composition. I also found it oddly similar to Bois d’Armenie, as though Guerlain had run out of ideas. No Guerlinade in sight, or perhaps worse still, this odd woody patchouli is the new Guerlinade.

All in all, La Petite Robe Noire seems like a poor knock-off of Coco Mademoiselle with a touch of Lolita Lempicka (and about a pound of sugar) for good measure. My intense love of Guerlain scents, with a few exceptions, has diminished a notch with each release after Samsara. Unless the house gets some new ideas soon (hint: bring back Mathilde Laurent), I fear that this may be the end, with a full stop.

Fruity Floral

Notes: Black Cherry, Black Rose, Patchouli, Smoked Tea

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Guerlain News

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Guerlain News

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I recently posted here that the Guerlain flagship store at 68 Champs-Élysées was undergoing renovations. It turns out that the store has indeed been closed for the past several months and is expected to remain so until later this year. Apparently the existing boutique area is undergoing an extensive expansion which will span multiple floors. My friend in Paris was kind enough to snap some photos for me which show work going on in the background. While it is certainly exciting to imagine the beautiful new displays, I do wonder how necessary the additional space is, as 68 Champs-Élysées was just expanded in 2011. Hopefully the rumors about historic elements being demolished will turn out to be unfounded.

 

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Another rumor which judging by these photos seems to hold some truth is that Guerlain is conducting some activities in Russia. If you look closely at the flags in the picture at left, you can see the Russian flag all the way to the right. In addition to a commemorative bee bottle of Quand Vient La Pluie (Thierry Wasser’s modern “interpretation” of Après L’Ondée) named Place Rouge to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Russia’s major department stores (located in Red Square), Guerlain has been rumored to be producing fragrances in factories located in the former Soviet Union.

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This could hold some benefit for perfumistas, as the strict regulations regarding perfume materials are not in place outside of the European Union. While the news of this set my mind racing with olfactory visions of real oakmoss, the thought of another Wasser creation snapped me back to reality. Now if Guerlain would only bring back Mathilde Laurent!

 

 

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Guerlain – L’Heure de Nuit

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Guerlain – L’Heure de Nuit

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Released in 2012, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the monumental L’Heure Bleue, L’Heure de Nuit is Thierry Wasser’s homage to the classic. The fragrance is striking, a deep blue-hued juice in a classic bee bottle, and yet it seems an odd choice of presentation for such a  prestigious house.

While I applaud the effort on the part of houses like Guerlain to introduce their classics to a younger audience, once you have mastered perfection, it is difficult to match. In fact, any fragrance so sublime as L’Heure Bleue is sure to make anything, let alone a modern flanker, pale in comparison. Had I never smelled L’Heure Bleue, I may have fallen in love with L’Heure de Nuit immediately, but given the circumstances, it is difficult not to make comparisons.

L’Heure de Nuit starts off smelling distinctly like L’Heure Bleue, the gorgeous, luminous orange blossom unfolding into a anisic, almond confection that is pure heaven on earth. But much like Beethoven’s Ode to Joy loses some of its strength when played apart from the rest of the Ninth Symphony, L’Heure de Nuit feels slightly trite without the heft of the original. Absent is the rich powdery veil and the lush oriental base. In its stead, L’Heure de Nuit gets a dose of clean musk, making it feel lighter, cleaner and more modern than its refined older sister. If L’Heure Bleue is an impressionist painting, deep with densely applied colors, L’Heure de Nuit is a starter pack of magic markers: colorful and bright, but light and transient.

While the fragrance is lovely, it lacks the depth which gives vintage Guerlains their classic tenor. The fragrance has good longevity and sillage but again, lighter than the original. While I am thrilled that one of the most beautiful fragrances of all time has not been forgotten, I would prefer to have the original reincarnated in its true form, though as one can tell from the abominable quality of the current version of L’Heure Bleue, the IFRA has made that impossible.

Classic Reinterpreted

Notes: Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Iris, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Rose, Musk, Sandalwood

 

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